Activities included:
-Secret Itinerary at Doge's Palace, great tour and beautiful Palace!
-St. Marks Basilica, unbelievable!!
-Lido Island (fun ride over and back, only stayed for dinner and a stroll to the beach)
-Dining on the spectacular Grand Canal, ahh.........
-Sipping Frangelico on the piazza at the Quadri listening to the dueling ochestras!! Magical!!!!
-Walked and walked while attempting to absorb and memorize the beauty of the canals, flowers, statues, bridges........LOVED VENICE!

June 22, Eurostar to Rome

Rome June 22 - June 26
Four nights in Rome at an apartment on Via del Boccaccio, rented through Shortlets in Rome.
Loved having an apartment and this one was in a great location near Piazza Barberini, with lots of potential, however it was not too clean and the A/C barely worked!!! Neutral recommendation!

-Sights and activities on our own: Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Vatican and Sistine Chapel, Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona, Campo de Fiori, climbing to the top of St. Peter's Dome.... Again, lots of walking while our eyes feasted upon the most glorious sights at every corner! It was so easy to ignore the dirt and grit when the beauty and architecture from the incredible work of geniuses surrounded us! A sensory experience at every turn! Spectacular city with vibrant energy and history!!!!!
-Private tour of the Coliseum and Forum with Sarah from Througheternity Tours. Loved this tour!!!!
-St Peters Excavations Scavi Tour, so interesting and educational ( for me)!!
-Favorite dining experience: La Capricciosa at Largo dei Lombardi. As we were wandering through the streets looking for a place to eat, we spotted this restaurant with its outside seating, away from the crowds and vehicles! Food and wine were delicious!!

Met at train station by a driver and his Mercedes, set up through Renato Cuomo's website,and brought to Pompeii while he waited for us!

Visited Pompeii, using Rick Steves self- guided tour instructions. (Worked for us as we limited our time to 2 hours, being almost 100 degrees outside!!! Thrilled to have the opportunity to see Pompeii even though it was brief!!

Arrived in Positano, after experiencing the most beautiful and surreal drive!! Reminded us somewhat of Costa Rica's drives!!

Positano, June 26- June 30
Four nights at Eden Roc, 2 Superior rooms located on the 4th floor!! Breathtaking view from our incredible balcony!!! Loved Eden Roc once we got used to the rules and regs!!! Highly recommended, but expensive! Originally, we were going to stay at affordable Villa Rosa, but then decided we really wanted a pool. Great decision, as it was wonderful to be able to cool down and relax by the pool each afternoon!

Activities:
-relaxing on our balcony sipping cappuccino in the morning and vino in the evening!
-poolside naps!!
-Shopping, shopping, shopping!
-Dining highlight: trip to the Trattoria La Tagliata in Montepertuso! The best food of the entire trip!! Check it out: latagliata.com/restaurant_positano_trattoria.php
-Boat trip on the Amalfi Coast with Salvatore and Gloria! Fabulous lunch and wine during the trip at Il Gusto Della Costa! Another incredible highlight!!http://www.gennaroesalvatore.it

June 30
Sad, sad morning, left Positano with driver Renato Cuomo to crowded and a bit intimating (thought we were going to miss our flight with all the pushing and cutting in line)Naples Airport!!!! Tip: Allow LOTS of time for check in to alleviate stress!!!!! Think Italian "space" when standing in line!

Travel companions: My husband, 17 yr old son and his 17 yo friend for entire trip.
Close friend and her husband with two of their children, aged 19 and 13 met up with us in Rome and Positano for 8 nights!

After searching for the "right price" for 6 months I found flight prices we could live with, booking through Flycheapabroard. Everything worked out fine, although I did have to stay on top of our plane seating as the planes changed a couple of times causing us to lose our original seats. No problems though. My son, his friend and I only used a 21" rolling suitcase each and my husband used a 24" (for all my extras)!! Our carry-ons were small with 2 changes of clothes just in case! Happy to report it wasn't necessary!

However, our friends also flew on Alitalia, and they had a nightmare of a time. Although they got their luggage eventually, it was lost to AND from Italy for days each time!!!! And, they didn't have a carry on with a change of clothing!!! They got some awesome new clothes in Rome though!!

Weather: We chose June instead of my Birthday month of August because I had read about how hot it gets!!! Well, it was hot in June too! We kept hearing something about a heat wave coming up from Africa! No worries though, it never rained, the sun shined everyday and I love hot weather anyway!!!

While writing this, the words that kept coming to mind were love, beauty, incredible, spectacular and magical! Yes, that about sums up my feelings for our first trip to Europe and Italy!!!!!